Method and Device for Modifying Meta Data of Media Objects

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method for handling meta data of media objects, comprising creating a media object at a mobile electronic device, obtaining at least one rule defining modifications for positional data relating to at least one geographical area, determining positional data relating to the current geographical position of said mobile electronic device, applying said at least one rule to said positional data to derive positional meta data if said positional data relate to said at least one geographical area, deriving positional meta data from said determined positional data if said determined positional data do not relate to said at least one geographical area, and associating said positional meta data with said media object. An electronic device capable of performing the method is also provided.

The present invention relates to a method and device for modifying metadata associated to media objects. It particularly relates to rule-basemodifying of positional meta data of media objects recorded with mobileelectronic devices.

Media object formats allow media objects to be keyworded and tagged witha variety of attributes. In addition, media object repositories mayallow media objects to be tagged, for example when they are published oredited later. As devices such as digital cameras, phones, Digital VideoRecorders (DVR), etc. begin to get equipped with geopositioningcapabilities, features are added to digital recording devices toautomatically associate geoposition data to produced media objects.

Media object formats may allow location data to be part of a mediaobject. Tags with location data may also be associated with mediaobjects as well (i.e. geo tagging). When electronic devices haveintegrated location features, location data may be automatically addedto media objects and/or tags associated with media objects. GPS accuracyis in the order of tens of meters and so is quite precise.

The prior art does not provide any means for allowing users to controlwhich positional meta data are associated to media objects and/or howthese positional meta data are handled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention a method is provided,comprising

-   -   creating a media object at a mobile electronic device;    -   obtaining at least one rule defining modifications for        positional data relating to at least one geographical area;    -   determining positional data relating to the current geographical        position of said mobile electronic device;    -   applying said at least one rule to said positional data to        derive positional meta data if said positional data relate to        said at least one geographical area;    -   deriving positional meta data from said determined positional        data if said determined positional data do not relate to said at        least one geographical area; and    -   associating said positional meta data with said media object.

When tagging media objects such as pictures taken with a digital camerawith positional meta data, a user may not always want the positionalmeta data to be (too) exact. For example the user may want to avoidtagging photographs of his house with the exact geographical locationthereof, in order to protect his privacy. This is particularly true whenpublishing such pictures, e.g. using an Internet media sharing service.However, on the other hand the user may want other pictures, e.g. from avacation trip to a foreign country, to comprise the exact locationswhere the pictures were taken. Therefore the invention enables the userto make use of rules defining modifications for positional data relatingto certain geographical areas.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   said at least one rule defines replacement data for positional        data relating to a pre-determined geographical area; and    -   applying said rule comprises replacing said determined        positional data with said replacement data.

A user may want to replace certain positional data, e.g. the location ofhis home or working place, by other positional data. This may includeusing only the city the respective location belongs to, the country orany other more or less accurate replacement data. Replacement positionaldata may also include a kind of label, like “my home” or “the office”not revealing positional data the user may not want to share withothers.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   said at least one rule defines a pre-determined accuracy for        positional data relating to a pre-determined geographical area;        and    -   applying said rule comprises reducing the accuracy of said        determined positional data to said pre-determined accuracy.

This is another alternative for protecting a user's privacy, i.e.reducing the accuracy of the positional data included in positional metadata. Instead of the exact position, e.g. “+60.16667, +24.9214” (e.g.GPS decimal coordinates) the positional meta data could only comprisee.g. “center=‘+60.17, +24.92’, ‘radius=2 km’”, or the GPS coordinate ofsome commonly recognizable center point of a city (e.g. Helsinki trainstation), or “Helsinki, Finland”, or just “Finland”. In case of positiondetermination using a cellular communication system it may be sufficientto only indicate the current cell of the mobile device.

Another example for providing coordinates with reduced accuracy isreplacing the exact coordinates like 48° 07′ 10.9″ N 11° 36′ 42.4″ Ewith coordinates wherein the seconds or minutes are not given preciselybut as an interval including the accurate position, like 48° 07′ [0-60]″N 11° 36′ [0-60]″ E or generally 48° 07′ [x1-x2]″ N 11° 36′ [y1-y2]″ E.

In any case care has to be taken in providing these coordinates withreduced accuracy with respect to how the coordinates are made moreinaccurate. It is apparently not desirable to enable someone to derivethe reduced values from the exact values in a manner that can easily beanticipated. For example, the above mentioned center point must not bethe exact location, and the interval x1-x2/y1-y2 must not be centered onthe exact value. Otherwise persons that should not know the exactcoordinates could easily derive them even from the reduced accuracyvalues. This could be avoided e.g. by using a pseudo-random generator orlike for deriving the “boundary” values for the inaccuratecentered/interval coordinates.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   said at least one rule defines an exclusion for positional data        relating to a pre-determined geographical area; and    -   applying said rule comprises excluding said determined        positional data from said positional meta data.

In this alternative embodiment the rule may define geographical areaswhere no positional meta data at all shall be associated with createdmedia objects, or in other words “empty” positional meta data will becreated.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   applying said rule comprises associating said at least one rule        with said media object.

In this embodiment positional meta data can be stored that is notmodified, i.e. contains the original exact position, but in case a ruleapplies to the positional data this rule can itself be associated withthe media object, e.g. by embedding it therein. This could for examplebe used for storing the media object with the original positional dataas meta data, and only performing the modifying before transmitting orstoring the media object later on. Another possibility is, for examplewhen the media object is transmitted to a trusted media sharing service,to embed the rule in the media object such that the media sharingservice can apply it to the media object.

According to an exemplary embodiment said at least one rule is obtainedfrom a user of said mobile electronic device.

According to an exemplary embodiment obtaining said at least one rulecomprises receiving said at least one rule.

This embodiment allows sharing rules, for example user-created rules,between multiple devices/persons. An example could be a family sharingthe rules between the family members.

According to an exemplary embodiment the method comprises

-   -   indicating to a user of said mobile electronic device if more        than one rule relates to the geographical area of said        determined positional data;    -   receiving a user input selecting one rule;        wherein said selected rule is used as said at least one rule.

In case more than one rule relates to the current position, the user isprompted to indicate which rule is to be used. This embodiment is to beunderstood as also including a case where the user chooses to apply an“empty” rule, i.e. not altering the positional data at all, or in otherwords choosing not to apply one or more rules.

According to an exemplary embodiment the method comprises

-   -   selecting the rule defining the strongest modification of said        determined positional data if more than one rule relates to the        geographical area of said determined positional data;        wherein said selected rule is used as said at least one rule.

In case more than one rule relates to the current position the ruledefining the strongest modification, or in other words applying thehighest level of privacy protection, can be selected automatically. Inother embodiments the rule constituting the weakest modification can beselected.

According to an exemplary embodiment the method comprises

-   -   storing and/or transmitting said media object and said        associated positional meta data.

The positional meta data can be stored and/or transmitted comprising anassociation or link to the associated data, or the positional meta datacan be integrated into the media object itself, e.g. by embedding ittherein.

According to an exemplary embodiment said modifications defined by saidat least one rule are entity-specific modifications, the method furthercomprising:

-   -   detecting an access to said media object by an entity;    -   providing said media object with said associated positional meta        data to said entity;        wherein said applying of said at least one rule is performed        responsive to said detected access and based on said entity.

The invention also allows using entity-specific modifications, e.g. thelevel of accuracy of the shown location might depend on the viewer. Anexample for this could be that family members and close friends areprovided with the exact location, whereas other people only see modifiedlocation data. Mobile device contact data, i.e. phone book and groupdata, could be used to create appropriate location accuracy profiles andset different levels of accuracy for each profile/group/contact, ifneeded. For example un-modified exact location data for members of the“family” contact group, reduced accuracy location data for other entrieswithin a phone book, and excluding the positional data altogether forany unknown entity.

It is to be noted that in this embodiment the actual modification ofpositional meta data is performed upon the detected access by theentity. The media object can in this case already be stored togetherwith the exact positional data at which it was created, and themodification and association with the media object will occur in an“on-the-fly” manner before providing the media object and positionalmeta data to the accessing entity. The access could e.g. be performedvia a Bluetooth or other wired or wireless connection to the devicehaving the media object. In case of Bluetooth the unique ID could beused to identify an accessing entity like another user's mobile phone.

The term “providing” said media object is to be understood as includingtransmitting, storing and/or presenting the media object. Transmittingcould be performed via a wireless connection between two mobile phones,storing could be performed to a storage medium such as USB memorysticks, and presenting could be done via the display of a laptop orhandheld computer. Identifying the entity desiring access to the mediaobject can be achieved via device identification such as a Bluetooth ID,the name or hardware ID of a connected storage medium, and in case ofvisual presentation on a display screen via username and password of auser wishing to view the media object.

According to an exemplary embodiment said positional meta datacorrespond to

-   -   Exchangeable Image File Format, EXIF;    -   International Press Telecommunications Council, IPTC, standard;    -   Extensible Metadata Platform, XMP;    -   NewsML;    -   Universal Transverse Mercator Projection, UTM;    -   National Grid; or    -   Irish Grid.

According to the invention the positional data within the positionalmeta data can be compliant with any positional data system. Examples forsuch systems are UTM, National grid or Irish Grid. Universal TransverseMercator Projection (UTM) is used as the mapping standard in most ofEurope. National Grid is used in the UK and Irish grid is used inIreland.

According to an exemplary embodiment said media object comprises atleast one of

-   -   a still image;    -   a video recording;    -   a data recording; and    -   an audio recording.

An example for a data recording could be data recorded from bodysensors, e.g. heart rate, body temperature or blood pressure. Generally,the invention is not restricted to any particular type of media object,but can be applied to any media (or generally data) object that is to betagged with positional data.

According to a second aspect of the invention a computer program productis provided, comprising program code for carrying out the methoddescribed above when said program product is run on an electronicdevice. In an exemplary embodiment the computer program product isstored on a computer-readable medium.

According to a third aspect of the invention a mobile electronic deviceis provided, comprising

-   -   an interface adapted for receiving positional data;    -   a recording component adapted for creating a media object;    -   a controller adapted for obtaining at least one rule defining        modifications for positional data relating to at least one        geographical area, determining positional data relating to the        current geographical position of said mobile electronic device,        applying said at least one rule to said positional data to        derive positional meta data if said positional data relate to        said at least one geographical area, and deriving positional        meta data from said determined positional data if said        determined positional data do not relate to said at least one        geographical area, and associating said positional meta data        with said media object.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   said at least one rule defines replacement data for positional        data relating to a pre-determined geographical area; and    -   said controller is adapted for applying said at least one rule        by replacing said determined positional data with said        replacement data.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   said at least one rule defines a pre-determined accuracy for        positional data relating to a pre-determined geographical area;        and    -   said controller is adapted for applying said at least one rule        by reducing the accuracy of said determined positional data to        said pre-determined accuracy.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   said at least one rule defines an exclusion for positional data        relating to a pre-determined geographical area; and    -   said controller is adapted for applying said at least one rule        by excluding said determined positional data from said        positional meta data.

This can for example be accomplished by generating the positional metadata as “empty” or “dummy” kind of data.

According to an exemplary embodiment said controller is adapted forassociating said at least one rule with said media object.

According to an exemplary embodiment the device comprises

-   -   a user interface;        wherein said controller is adapted for obtaining said at least        one rule via said user interface from a user of said mobile        electronic device.

According to an exemplary embodiment the device comprises

-   -   an interface adapted for receiving and/or transmitting said at        least one rule.

This interface can be any suitable kind of data interface, including butnot limited to Universal Serial Bus, Wireless Local Area Network WLAN,Bluetooth, General Packet Radio Service GRPS etc.

According to an exemplary embodiment the device comprises

-   -   a user interface;        wherein said controller is adapted for indicating to a user of        said mobile electronic device if more than one rule relates to        the geographical area of said determined positional data,        receiving a user input selecting one rule via said user        interface, and using said selected rule as said at least one        rule.

According to an exemplary embodiment said controller is adapted forselecting the rule defining the strongest modification if more than onerule relates to the geographical are of said determined positional data,and using said selected rule as said at least one rule.

According to an exemplary embodiment the device comprises

-   -   a memory component adapted for storing media objects and said        associated positional meta data.

This can be an internal flash memory or hard disk or any other suitablememory component.

According to an exemplary embodiment the device comprises

-   -   an interface adapted for transmitting media objects and        associated positional meta data.

This interface can be any suitable kind of data interface, including butnot limited to Universal Serial Bus, Wireless Local Area Network WLAN,Bluetooth, General Packet Radio Service GBPS etc.

According to an exemplary embodiment said modifications defined by saidat least one rule are entity-specific modifications, wherein saidcontroller is adapted for detecting an access to said media object by anentity, applying said at least one rule responsive to said detectedaccess and based on said entity, and providing said media object withsaid associated positional meta data to said entity.

According to an exemplary embodiment said positional meta datacorrespond to

-   -   Exchangeable Image File Format, EXIF;    -   International Press Telecommunications Council, IPTC, standard;    -   Extensible Metadata Platform, XMP;    -   NewsML;    -   Universal Transverse Mercator Projection, UTM;    -   National Grid; or    -   Irish Grid.

According to an exemplary embodiment said interface adapted forreceiving positional data comprises at least one of

-   -   a Global Positioning System, GPS, receiver;    -   a Galileo positioning system receiver; and    -   a cellular communications interface.

According to an exemplary embodiment said recording component comprisesat least one of

-   -   a still image camera;    -   a video camera; and    -   an audio recorder.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention a module is provided,comprising

-   -   an interface adapted for receiving positional data;    -   a controller adapted for obtaining at least one rule defining        modifications for positional data relating to at least one        geographical area, applying said at least one rule to said        positional data to derive positional meta data if said        positional data relate to said at least one geographical area,        and deriving positional meta data from said determined        positional data if said determined positional data do not relate        to said at least one geographical area.

This module can be understood as a kind of “filter” component, to beused in mobile electronic devices for filtering the generation ofpositional meta data. Or generally speaking, it can be understood as anaccessory module for mobile electronic devices providing positional metadata, wherein the positional meta data are being filtered in order notto reveal any sensitive position data. The module can include aninterface to a position detection component such as a GPS mouse, or itcan also comprise an integrated location component, i.e. a GPS receivermodule or like.

According to an exemplary embodiment the module further comprises

-   -   an interface for providing said positional meta data.

The module can be integrated in a mobile electronic device, in whichcase this interface could be an internal wired connection, or it can bean external accessory module, connected with a mobile device via a wiredor wireless connection, like USB, Bluetooth or like.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   said at least one rule defines replacement data for positional        data relating to a pre-determined geographical area; and    -   said controller is adapted for applying said at least one rule        by replacing said determined positional data with said        replacement data.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   said at least one rule defines a pre-determined accuracy for        positional data relating to a pre-determined geographical area;        and    -   said controller is adapted for applying said at least one rule        by reducing the accuracy of said determined positional data to        said pre-determined accuracy.

According to an exemplary embodiment

-   -   said at least one rule defines an exclusion for positional data        relating to a pre-determined geographical area; and    -   said controller is adapted for applying said at least one rule        by excluding said determined positional data from said        positional meta data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be more fully understood by the following detaileddescription of exemplary embodiments, when also referring to thedrawings, which are provided in an exemplary manner only and are notintended to limit the invention to any particular embodiment illustratedtherein. In the drawings

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of themethod of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of components of an embodiment of the deviceof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Users may generally wish to use geo tagging features, but to disallow,filter, reduce the accuracy, or otherwise manipulate the location datafor created media objects or meta data at defined locations. Users mayadditionally wish to define such settings for others to use; one examplecould be a family or another cohabiting group.

For example the Exchangeable Image Format (EXIF) and International PressTelecommunications Council (IPTC) formats allow many types of name/valueattributes to be added to image media objects. In addition, media objectrepositories may allow media objects to have textual (or other) tagsassociated to them, for example when they are published on the Internetor edited later. When geographic tags (such at latitude and longitude)are attached as tags, this is sometimes referred to as “geo tagging”.

At certain “sensitive” locations users may wish no location informationto be attached, less accurate or otherwise modified, filtered ormanipulated information (e.g. strings like city, state or country) to beused instead of the original precise location data.

A user defines a set of geographic areas and a set of rules for handlingof attached location information for recorded or published mediaobjects, especially for

-   -   location data attached to a media object or associated tag in        general, or    -   location data attached to a media object or associated tag that        is (or may at some future time become) visible to others.

When the device knows its location, and recognizes that it is withinthose defined areas, it uses the defined rules for manipulating locationinformation it attaches to recorded or published media objects and/orassociated meta data. Such a set of rules may be shared between one ormore devices of other users. One example group is a family, where it isalso likely that at least most of the sensitive areas will be commonbetween family members.

Such a rule based system can be used for automatically modifyingfiltering, editing, or manipulation of recorded media objects or relatedmetadata within defined locations. The user could define one or morebounding boxes with associated rules or filters for recording mediaobjects (videos, still images, voice clips, etc.). An exemplary boundingbox consists of a pair of bounding GPS latitude/longitude coordinates,and a rule or filter to apply. A bounding box of the form “from={latitude1, longitude1)}, to ={latitude2, longitude2}” has fourcorners: {latitude1, longitude1}, {latitude1, longitude2}, {latitude2,longitude1 } and {latitude2, longitude2}. It should be noted that theshape of the bounding area is not restricted to a rectangle; it can be apentagon, polygon, circle, or an area consisting of user's freelyselected corners. A rectangle is used here only as an example, any otherform of area can be used as well.

Such a bounding box with an associated rule could, for example, be of aform like:

-   -   User defined replacement rule (e.g. name/value attribute pair):        “from ={latitude1, longitude1}, to ={latitude2, longitude2}:        location is ‘<replacement string>’”, wherein <replacement        string> might be “Helsinki”, “Finland”, “Schwabing, Munich”, “My        home”, “Countryside home”, “Office” etc.    -   User defined exclusion rule:        “from ={latitude1, longitude 1}, to ={latitude2, longitude2}:        location is ‘excluded’”, wherein the positional meta data could        be “unknown”, “restricted”, unavailable” or like.    -   User defined reduced accuracy rule, based on current location:        “from ={latitude1, longitude1}, to ={latitude2, longitude2}:        location is ‘City=$city( )’, ‘State=$state( )’,        ‘Country=$country( )’”, i.e. a position in the form of “Country,        City, Street” would be reduced to “Country, City”, “Country,        City” would be reduced to “Country”.

These could be defined textually, with a menu, graphically, etc. Thedevice/application can also have a pre-defined set of rules that theuser can tie to one or more bounding boxes, like “home location”,“working place location” etc. If multiple overlapping bounding boxes aredefined the user could be prompted to ask which one to use, or a usercould be prevented from defining overlapping bounding boxes. The devicecould distinguish between cases where the bounding boxes have compatiblerules, and could automatically merge results for compatible rules.

A typical use case could look like this:

The user starts to create/record a new media object. The device uses thebounding boxes to determine if the actual current location is withinsome bounding box or not. If not, data from the integral GPS device (oranother location component as cellular positioning) is used for creatingor publishing the media object with associated meta data. If the currentlocation is within some bounding box, the corresponding rule or filteris applied when creating the positional meta data.

The user sends the settings he has created, i.e. the rules related togeographical areas, using a convenient data format, e.g. in form of adata message, to another user or user's device. The second user acceptsto put the settings into use on her or his device.

The user might be using a media sharing service, where he transfers partor all of his media objects. The location publishing rules might betransmitted to the service, or embedded in each media object as furthermeta data. The service uses the location publishing rules to change thelocation information attached to the media objects when the mediaobjects are being published. This may include to make this decisiondependent on how much the method is trusted that is used for publishing.For example, an Internet media sharing service may have a user areaprotected by username and password, and a public area not requiring anauthentication. If pictures are to be published in the protected userarea, the full positional meta data can be used for the respective mediaobjects. However, when publishing the pictures in the public area, themodification rules are applied to modify the positional meta dataaccordingly.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing steps of an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. In step 102 a media objects is created, for exampleby taking a picture using a digital camera, recording a video or audiosequence. The media object is created at a mobile electronic device withlocation capabilities, i.e. comprising an integrated positioningreceiver for the Global Positioning System GPS, a cellular positioningmodule, or being connected to an external positioning receiver module.An example for the latter can e.g. be a Personal Digital Assistanthaving an integrated GPS module, or being connected to a so-called GPSmouse via Bluetooth.

In step 104 a rule is obtained, defining modifications for positionaldata relating to a particular geographical area. For example a user maywant to define a circular area of 5 km centered at his home in whichpositional data will be modified. The rule can be obtained from a user,step 106, e.g. entered via the user interface of the mobile electronicdevice. The rule can also be received, e.g. from another mobileelectronic device, via Bluetooth, WLAN or similar wired or wirelesslinks.

In step 110 the current position of the mobile electronic device isdetermined. If the current position is located within the geographicalarea defined by said rule, i.e. “yes” in step 112, positional meta dataare derived in step 114 by applying the rule to said current positionaldata. For example, instead of the precise position a general indicationlike “Helsinki, Finland” or possibly only the part of the city includingthe current position is used like “Schwabing, Munich”. Another examplecould be to leave out the street number, like “Bavaria Street” insteadof “Bavaria Street 7”. It should be ensured that thereplacement/modification makes the modified positional “inaccurate”enough to protect the user's privacy. For example, a street having amere ten street numbers should not be used by simply leaving out theexact street number as the accuracy is still too high, while using aparticular street having some hundred street numbers will usually beinaccurate enough. Another possibility could be to replace the currentpositional data within a particular city with the coordinates of asomehow “central” location, like the capitol, the geographical center orlike.

If the current position is found not to relate to the geographical areadefined in said rule instep 112, the positional meta data are derivedfrom the (unmodified) positional data of the current position in step114. Either way, the process continues with step 120, where the derivedpositional meta data are being associated with the created media object.This may include actually embedding the meta data in the media object,or otherwise providing a unique association between the meta data andthe media object, e.g. by storing a pointer in the media object pointingto the associated meta data. In step 122 the created media object isstored in a memory component, e.g. an internal flash memory or hard diskof the mobile device, and/or transmitted to be stored, e.g. at anInternet media sharing service.

The present invention includes transmitting, receiving and sharing ofmodification rules. An example could be a family, where the familymembers like mom, dad, daughter and son share the same set ofmodification rules (or a sub-set of rules). The common rules between thefamily members may include rules for the geographical vicinity of theircity home and their countryside home. Each family member may haveadditional rules for other geographical areas, like the school of thedaughter or the office of the father.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a mobile electronicdevice 1 according to the invention. The mobile electronic device 1 canbe a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a digital camera, a video camera,and audio recorder or any other device for creating media objects suchas digital pictures, videos, audio recordings and the like. In thedepicted exemplary embodiment it is a PDA having a digital still picturecamera 18 and a microphone 20. The device 1 comprises a locationcomponent 2, connected with an antenna 16 for receiving positional datafrom e.g. the GPS satellites, together forming an interface forreceiving positional data. In other embodiments this interface forreceiving positional data can be a Bluetooth interface connectedwirelessly with a so-called GPS mouse, i.e. an external GPS receiver.

A recording component 4 is provided for creating media objects. In thedepicted example it comprises a digital camera 18 and a microphone 20,therefore it is able to take still pictures and record audio. In otherembodiments the recording component can have any combination of stillpicture camera, video camera or microphone, or even be a general datarecording component, like body sensors for heart rate, temperature,blood pressure and the like. The recording component 4 is connected witha central controller 6 of the mobile device 1. A memory component 12 isprovided for storing created media objects, for example a flash memoryor a miniature hard disk. A user interface 8 is connected to thecontroller 6, for example including a keypad or full keyboard in a PDA,and a display. The user interface 8 is provided for allowing a user tocontrol the device 1, e.g. controlling the creation of media objects. Itis also provided to allow a user to input rules for modifying positionaldata as described above.

An interface 10 is further provided, e.g. a USB interface having amini-USB socket 14. This interface 10 is provided for transmittingcreated media objects to other electronic devices like a personalcomputer or a mobile device of another user, or to a media sharingservice, e.g. an Internet portal for sharing pictures. The interface 10is also adapted for receiving and/or transmitting rules, for examplefrom/to other mobile electronic devices belonging to other familymembers. In other embodiments this interface can be any other suitabledata interface, for example Bluetooth, WLAN, Fire Wire IEEE1394, GPRSetc.

The controller 6 is adapted for performing the inventive method formodifying positional meta data. Upon the creation of a media object,e.g. taking a picture using camera 18/recording component 4 thecontroller determines the current geographical position of the mobiledevice 1, using location component 2/antenna 16. In a further step thecontroller 6 checks if a rule is present related to the determinedcurrent location. If so, that is, if the current position is locatedwithin a geographical area for which a corresponding rule is present,the controller 6 applies the rule to the determined positional data inorder to derive positional meta data. In a further step the controller 6stores the created media object associated with the derived positionalmeta data in memory component 12. It can also transmit the created mediaobject associated with the positional meta data via interface 10/socket14, for example when the user returns to his home and wishes to copy thecreated media object to his personal computer, or an Internet mediasharing service.

The present invention allows the modification of positional meta datafor media objects on the basis of user-definable rules, in order toprotect the user's privacy. It therefore provides a comfortable way forcontrolling which positional meta data will be associated with mediaobjects. This is not only comfortable, it will also prevent that anysensitive positional data is unintentionally shared with others.

The latter will most certainly happen sometime if the user can onlymanually switch on/off the inclusion of positional data without beingreminded of the currently set mode for each media object, as users tendto forget to switch the setting. Also, even if an indication would beprovided each time a media object is created (e.g. “include positionaldata?”) it is very likely that users will soon be annoyed by thisinterruption and prefer to disable it, thus again being prone toforgetting to turn of the inclusion of (exact) positional data. Theinvention provides a much more sophisticated way of defining whichpositional data shall be included and how they are to be modified.

1. Method, comprising creating a media object at a mobile electronicdevice; obtaining at least one rule defining modifications forpositional data relating to at least one geographical area; determiningpositional data relating to the current geographical position of saidmobile electronic device; applying said at least one rule to saidpositional data to derive positional meta data if said positional datarelate to said at least one geographical area; deriving positional metadata from said determined positional data if said determined positionaldata do not relate to said at least one geographical area; andassociating said positional meta data with said media object.
 2. Methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said at least one rule defines replacementdata for positional data relating to a pre-determined geographical area;and applying said rule comprises replacing said determined positionaldata with said replacement data.
 3. Method according to claim 1, whereinsaid at least one rule defines a pre-determined accuracy for positionaldata relating to a pre-determined geographical area; and applying saidrule comprises reducing the accuracy of said determined positional datato said pre-determined accuracy.
 4. Method according to claim 1, whereinsaid at least one rule defines an exclusion for positional data relatingto a pre-determined geographical area; and applying said rule comprisesexcluding said determined positional data from said positional metadata.
 5. Method according to claim 1, wherein applying said rulecomprises associating said at least one rule with said media object. 6.Method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one rule is obtainedfrom a user of said mobile electronic device.
 7. Method according toclaim 1, wherein obtaining said at least one rule comprises receivingsaid at least one rule.
 8. Method according to claim 1, comprisingindicating to a user of said mobile electronic device if more than onerule relates to the geographical area of said determined positionaldata; receiving a user input selecting one rule; wherein said selectedrule is used as said at least one rule.
 9. Method according to claim 1,comprising selecting the rule defining the strongest modification ofsaid determined positional data if more than one rule relates to thegeographical area of said determined positional data; wherein saidselected rule is used as said at least one rule.
 10. Method according toclaim 1, comprising storing and/or transmitting said media object andsaid associated positional meta data.
 11. Method according to claim 1,wherein said modifications defined by said at least one rule areentity-specific modifications, the method further comprising: detectingan access to said media object by an entity; providing said media objecthaving said associated positional meta data to said entity; wherein saidapplying of said at least one rule is performed responsive to saiddetected access and based on said entity.
 12. Method according to claim1, wherein said positional meta data correspond to Exchangeable ImageFile Format, EXIF; International Press Telecommunications Council, IPTC,standard; Extensible Metadata Platform, XMP; NewsML; UniversalTransverse Mercator Projection, UTM; National Grid; or Irish Grid. 13.Method according to claim 1, wherein said media object comprises atleast one of a still image; a video recording; a data recording; and anaudio recording.
 14. Computer program product comprising program codefor carrying out the method of claim 1 when said program product is runon an electronic device.
 15. Computer program product according to claim14, stored on a computer-readable medium.
 16. Mobile electronic device,comprising: an interface adapted for receiving positional data; arecording component adapted for creating a media object; and acontroller adapted for obtaining at least one rule definingmodifications for positional data relating to at least one geographicalarea, determining positional data relating to the current geographicalposition of said mobile electronic device, applying said at least onerule to said positional data to derive positional meta data if saidpositional data relate to said at least one geographical area, andderiving positional meta data from said determined positional data ifsaid determined positional data do not relate to said at least onegeographical area, and associating said positional meta data with saidmedia object.
 17. Device according to claim 16, wherein said at leastone rule defines replacement data for positional data relating to apre-determined geographical area; and said controller is adapted forapplying said at least one rule by replacing said determined positionaldata with said replacement data.
 18. Device according to claim 16,wherein said at least one rule defines a pre-determined accuracy forpositional data relating to a pre-determined geographical area; and saidcontroller is adapted for applying said at least one rule by reducingthe accuracy of said determined positional data to said pre-determinedaccuracy.
 19. Device according to claim 16, wherein said at least onerule defines an exclusion for positional data relating to apre-determined geographical area; and said controller is adapted forapplying said at least one rule by excluding said determined positionaldata from said positional meta data.
 20. Device according to claim 16,wherein said controller is adapted for associating said at least onerule with said media object.
 21. Device according to claim 16,comprising a user interface; wherein said controller is adapted forobtaining said at least one rule via said user interface from a user ofsaid mobile electronic device.
 22. Device according to claim 16,comprising an interface adapted for receiving and/or transmitting saidat least one rule.
 23. Device according to claim 16, comprising a userinterface; wherein said controller is adapted for indicating to a userof said mobile electronic device if more than one rule relates to thegeographical area of said determined positional data, receiving a userinput selecting one rule via said user interface, and using saidselected rule as said at least one rule
 24. Device according to claim16, wherein said controller is adapted for selecting the rule definingthe strongest modification if more than one rule relates to thegeographical are of said determined positional data, and using saidselected rule as said at least one rule.
 25. Device according to claim16, comprising a memory component adapted for storing media objects andsaid associated positional meta data.
 26. Device according to claim 16,comprising an interface adapted for transmitting media objects andassociated positional meta data.
 27. Device according to claim 16,wherein said modifications defined by said at least one rule areentity-specific modifications, and wherein said controller is adaptedfor detecting an access to said media object by an entity, applying saidat least one rule responsive to said detected access and based on saidentity, and providing said media object with said associated positionalmeta data to said entity.
 28. Device according to claim 16, wherein saidpositional meta data correspond to Exchangeable Image File Format, EXIF;International Press Telecommunications Council, IPTC, standard;Extensible Metadata Platform, XMP; NewsML; Universal Transverse MercatorProjection, UTM; National Grid; or Irish Grid.
 29. Device according toclaim 16, wherein said interface adapted for receiving positional datacomprises at least one of a Global Positioning System, GPS, receiver; aGalileo positioning system receiver; and a cellular communicationsinterface.
 30. Device according to claim 16, wherein said recordingcomponent comprises at least one of a still image camera; a videocamera; a data recorder; and an audio recorder.
 31. Module, comprisingan interface adapted for receiving positional data; and a controlleradapted for obtaining at least one rule defining modifications forpositional data relating to at least one geographical area, applyingsaid at least one rule to said positional data to derive positional metadata if said positional data relate to said at least one geographicalarea, and deriving positional meta data from said determined positionaldata if said determined positional data do not relate to said at leastone geographical area.
 32. Module according to claim 31, furthercomprising an interface for providing said positional meta data. 33.Module according to claim 31, wherein said at least one rule definesreplacement data for positional data relating to a pre-determinedgeographical area; and said controller is adapted for applying said atleast one rule by replacing said determined positional data with saidreplacement data.
 34. Module according to claim 31, wherein said atleast one rule defines a pre-determined accuracy for positional datarelating to a pre-determined geographical area; and said controller isadapted for applying said at least one rule by reducing the accuracy ofsaid determined positional data to said pre-determined accuracy. 35.Module according to claim 31, wherein said at least one rule defines anexclusion for positional data relating to a pre-determined geographicalarea; and said controller is adapted for applying said at least one ruleby excluding said determined positional data from said positional metadata.
 36. Apparatus, comprising: means for creating a media object at amobile electronic device; means for obtaining at least one rule definingmodifications for positional data relating to at least one geographicalarea; means for determining positional data relating to the currentgeographical position of said mobile electronic device; means forapplying said at least one rule to said positional data to derivepositional meta data if said positional data relate to said at least onegeographical area; means for deriving positional meta data from saiddetermined positional data if said determined positional data do notrelate to said at least one geographical area; and means for associatingsaid positional meta data with said media object.